Frolicking In The Snow
by tasteofhappy
Summary: The only woman Akito has ever loved, Saylor Sotoh, is responsible for the Sohma family once Akito dies. How will she manage the hardships? Rated T to be safe.. AkitoXOC Anime Based
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"You're sick again." Saylor Sotoh whispered, frowning slightly. She brushed Akito Sohma's raven black hair back with her fingertips, feeling his warm and moist skin. He coughed slightly, grabbing Saylor's hand, gently setting it back in her lap. He mumbled something that was inaudible just before Hatori Sohma, the Sohma family doctor, stepped carefully in the room.

Hatori's visits were quite often since Akito's illness was more than just a passing-by cold. In fact, as the Sohma grew older, the more he got sick. It was all just a burden of being the head of the Sohma family's Zodiac curse.

You see, thirteen members of the Sohma family are cursed with the twelve members of the Chinese zodiac and the cat. So, whenever they are under a great deal of stress or hugged by a member of the opposite sex, they transform into their animal. Akito has to suffer with the weight of the curse, so he gets sick often and is expected to die earlier than normal. Hatori finished checking up on Akito and gave the medication to Saylor, strictly instructing her to give him the pills three times a day.

"Come talk to me out in the hallway, Miss Sotoh." Hatori ordered, already walking to the exit. Saylor raised an eyebrow before following quickly behind Hatori. After they closed the door, Saylor spoke up, closing her eyes with a sigh, "It's worse than normal this time, right?"

"I'm afraid so. He hasn't got much time. I'd give him about one to two years, then he's gone." Hatori explained with an even voice. Saylor flashed an uneven frown, she felt a bit sad, despite having known about this since she was four.

"So what will happen? Who will take his place?" Saylor asked, her voice cracking sadly as she felt that she was going to cry. Hatori shifted from one foot to another uncomfortably, oddly. He'd never do that usually.

"I want you to bear Akito's child." he answered straightforwardly. Saylor almost choked on her own saliva as she felt her heart sink into her stomach. She loved Akito, but she wasn't ready for that. She was only twenty, after all. She couldn't take that commitment. She wanted to live her life.

"I... I don't know... No, I can't! I can't!" Saylor said, collapsing into tears with her head in her hands. Hatori sighed angrily and placed a hand on her bony shoulders.

"You are the only woman Akito cares about. You are the Sohma family's only hope," Hatori said, "Consider it." And then he was off.

Saylor's heart beat loudly as she walked back into Akito's room. Akito's half-lidded eyes met hers as she entered, begging for her presence.

"Wh-what did that dragon want?" Akito stuttered coldly, no doubt jealous that they were together alone for that long. Saylor padded over to Akito's side quickly, sitting down on the chair that was offered. She carefully grabbed his hand, bringing it up to her face. Lightly pressing her lips against it; her eyes closed.

"Just giving me instructions on how to make you feel better, the usual." she lied evenly. Akito replied with a groan, sliding out of her grip. She stared at his sleeping body, pondering what Hatori suggested. Would he even want to have a child with her? Sure, he was nicer to her than everyone else, but he didn't seem interested in her love. The way he rejected her loving touches.

She stayed like that for what seemed like hours, just staring at his limp sleeping body, thinking. Until a servant slipped into the room, bowing onto the floor. Usually Akito would yell at her or beat her, but that wasn't the case today.

"Yes?" Saylor asked softly, careful not to awake the sleeping Sohma. The servant walked over silently, whispering into Saylor's ear, "Dinner's ready and I cleaned your sleeping quarters."

Saylor smiled, thanking her with a nod, "Thank you for cleaning, but I think I'm going to stay with Akito, to keep an eye on him. Sorry for making you go through all of that trouble. I'll be down for dinner soon."

"It's okay, Miss Sotoh. Will Master Akito be joining us as well?" the servant whispered again.

"I'm afraid not, but I will be sure to bring him food for when he wakes up. You are dismissed." Saylor said, watching the servant wobble out of the room. Before she left Akito unattended, she kissed his warm cheeks and ran a cool hand through his silky hair.

She was sure Akito didn't hear, but she whispered to him, "I'll be back in a little bit, sweet Akito... Mamoru Sohma...that will be his name..."

Yes, she would be happy to have Akito's child.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Saylor slowly meandered back to Akito's room from the dining room. She always enjoyed having dinner with the Sohma family, although many didn't come for the sole reason that Akito would be there. Saylor agreed that he was a bit mean to them all, but he did have a reason. They were the reason that he wouldn't be able to live a long life. Or live one at all.

Saylor slid open Akito's door, expecting him to be asleep, but he wasn't. Instead, he was looking around frantically for something or someone. Akito's head snapped up as the door slid open, relaxing when he saw her.

"Akito? What's wrong? Are you okay? I brought you some dinner." Saylor explained as she swiftly walked over to him.

"I... I didn't know where you were! I was so worried! Don't do that again!" Akito said, grabbing her hand tightly. Not to where it hurt, but it was tight. Protective.

"I'm sorry..." Saylor replied gently, sitting the tray of food in front of him. "It's okay now, I'm here. I won't leave you again.."

She pressed her lips to the top of his head, rubbing his back lightly to calm him down, "Now will you eat?" she mumbled through his hair.

"I'm not hungry." he replied, pulling away from her to lay back down. Saylor frowned, sitting down next to him. Make him eat, even if he says he's not hungry. She recalled Hatori's words. She expected Akito to say no, but she didn't want him to.

"Please Akito? Hatori said it would make you feel better. You have to, doctor's orders. I promise it's yummy, it's my recipe." Saylor pleaded, feeling his warm forehead. Akito huffed, turning away from her after pushing the tray to the bottom of my bed. Frowning at her pointless efforts, she spoke softly, "For me...?"

Akito eventually sat up and nibbled on the food, eating only half of it. Still, at least he had some food on his stomach. He was already so skinny. Saylor watched him eat with a smile on her face, happy to see him do so.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Akito said hoarsely, giving the tray of food back to the brown-haired girl. Saylor shrugged, "I guess... I guess I'm just happy... To be here with you and to see you eating."

"Your smile is really goofy," Akito said, "but it's cute. I like it. You should smile more often..." Saylor blushed at the comment and hugged Akito, like she did many times before since they met when they were four.

* * *

_"Saylor, you have to meet with the new head of the family soon. His name is Akito and he has a little cold, so try not to touch him or get close.." Saylor's mother, Kira Sohma said. Her mother was born under the curse of the rabbit, but she had a child with Guri Sotoh, who had his memory erased._

_"Okay Mommy, but why do I have to wear this ugly pink kimono?" Saylor said, scrunching up her nose at the girly color. It reminded her of medicine._

_"It's beautiful! And you have to look nice for Master Akito." Kira explained, grabbing Saylor's hand and walking out of the quarters quickly, down the hall to Akito's room. Kira knocked softly on the door, waiting for a signal to come in. A tall, dark-haired teenage boy opened the door, smiling gently at the two._

_"Hello! My name is Hatori Sohma!" the boy said brightly, stepping aside to allow the two in. Kira moved to enter along with her daughter, but Hatori stopped her, sliding the door closed. As Saylor entered, she noticed a boy sitting in the dim light by the window. Saylor walked over with a smile._

_"You must be Akito! It's nice to meet you, my name is Saylor Sot-" she was cut off by Akito, who turned to her and glared, "I know your last name. Don't remind me." His voice was cold._

_"Oh... I'm sorry. I just thought that I'd give a formal greeting..." she frowned. Did Akito not like her? She wasn't used to people not liking her..and she didn't really like it when someone didn't like her. Akito sat there in silence for a while, until Saylor broke it, "My mommy told me that you were sick, are you okay?"_

_"Hm, the rabbit told you that? Well, since you're so nosy, yes. I'm sick. I'm sick because of that damn Zodiac curse!" Akito growled loudly, clenching his fists._

_"Oh..well I'm sorry! Hey! Maybe we could be friends, you know, visit each other's houses and hug each other! Hehe!" Saylor giggled, smiling at him._

_"Friends...? What is 'hug'?" Akito asked curiously. Saylor laughed, thinking he was joking at first, but was cut off by Akito narrowing his eyes._  
_"Oh.. you really don't know?" Saylor asked, receiving a small 'no' from Akito. Saylor thought for a moment, "Well, a hug... it's where you hold something. Like...have you ever held a stuffed animal? Or your parents?"_

_Akito responded with a shake of the head, no. Saylor frowned at his inexperience of love and carefully wrapped her hands around his waist, showing him a hug for the first time._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Saylor woke up the next morning to Akito's uneven, staggering breath on her cheek. She looked around the room, and her eyes landed on Akito's feeble body next to her. He was sweating harshly and breathed a bit too heavily for Saylor's liking. She noticed that she hadn't changed out of her silk blue kimono from the day before and carefully got out of bed, writing a note to Akito that said she'd be in the shower and she'd be back soon.

She slipped out of the room unnoticed and padded down to her living quarters, which was the room right next to Akito's. She searched through her closet, plucking out a silk red kimono with white flowers around the bottom and entered her bathroom, taking a shower and doing all things necessary. Once she was finished with the shower, she slid into her red kimono and dried her chestnut brown hair, plaiting it into a long side braid.

She hurried back to Akito's room in case he was worried about her again. She slid open the door and walked inside, seeing him sitting at the window staring out into the garden. Akito didn't bother to turn around, assuming it was Saylor since she didn't knock.

"I'm hot." Akito explained the opening of the top of his light red kimono. Saylor walked over to him, placing a hand on his forehead.

"You're burning up! Uh..." Saylor blushed, "um... maybe a cold bath would make you feel better?"

"Help me." Akito said, clutching his head in his hands, "I'm on fire." Saylor nodded, helping him out of his kimono, leaving him in his briefs, and opening up every window and the sliding door that lead to the garden. She ran to Akito's personal bathroom and ran the bath on the coldest possible temperature. When the tub was filled, she helped Akito out of his briefs, it was nothing she hadn't seen before, she'd practically raised him, and helped him into the bathtub. Akito panted loudly, sinking into the cool water. Saylor dampened a cloth with the ice cool water and dragged it across Akito's pale, bare skin.

"I'm sorry, Akito. I hope you feel better and I'll try to help you as much as I can." Saylor said, wetting her hands and running them through Akito's hair. He lightly closed his eyes from enjoyment.

Once Akito cooled down, Saylor helped him into a kimono and sat with him in the garden. Until there was a knock then the sliding of the door, "Master Akito." Came a voice, male to be exact. Saylor turned and saw Shigure Sohma, the dog, sitting there bowing. She whispered who it was to Akito.

"Shigure, how very nice to see you. Come in." Akito said as he fiddled with the bird resting on his index finger. Saylor walked out of the room to leave them alone. She wandered around the Sohma house until she found Hatori's office door, which she knocked on briefly, until the door opened slowly.

"Oh, Saylor." Hatori said, stepping aside to let her in his office. Saylor stepped in and sat down near Hatori's desk, which he sat in, "Have you thought about what I told you yesterday?"

"Y-yes. I thought about it, and I will have his child. But that's not what I came here for. What's the dog doing here?" Saylor asked, a bit curiously.

"Yuki's friend from school, Tohru Honda, has found out about the curse." Hatori sighed, closing his eyes frustratingly.

"Oh..maybe I shouldn't have left! Akito will probably be pretty angry... I don't want him to hurt Shigure or Yuki!" Saylor exclaimed, running out of the room quickly to Akito's quarters. When she arrived, she found Shigure walking out with a smile. They exchanged a nod of 'hello' before Saylor hurried inside. She found Akito sitting at the same spot.

"What did the dog want?" Saylor asked, even though she already knew. Akito laughed darkly and explained, "Apparently Yuki and Kyo have a little girlfriend. A girl named Tohru Honda. She knows the secret."

"Oh," Saylor said, sitting down next to Akito, "are you going to erase her memory?" Akito shrugged, shaking his head, "No. Not yet, anyway. I want to show Yuki that I still own him. Once she finds out Kyo's true form..." Akito trailed off, laughing again, loudly this time. Saylor smiled and held his hand, happy to see that he was feeling better.

She expected him to pull away, but this time he didn't, this time he kept a firm grip on her hand, and smiled at her. Not a smirk. Not a fake smile. A genuine smile that made her heart melt. It was beautiful. She didn't even expect what happened next.

Akito, all smiles, leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips. He pulled her close as the sun set at the horizon.


End file.
